Oh, yeah and I can totally related about the DVD thing. I rotate through mine: Buffy first (with corresponding Angel 2 parters), then Angel, then Firefly. Not every day but I'll do a glut of them every couple of weeks to get my fix.

I'm a relatively recent Firefly convert, having only watched the show in connection with the release of Serenity. Not to come off like an obnoxious browncoat, but the show was truly excellent. One of a kind.

Like the other guy said: Fuck you, Fox, for Firefly's death more than anything - yes, even more than for AvP and X3.

and right now there really is some good TV out there, Dresden had potential, HEROS started slow but really built up until that awful finale, the afro mentioned LOST, Burn Notice (single stand alone episdoes with a slow unfolding mystery), Pysch, etc.

Faith's story arc that continued on Angel was amazing after that. Just the torture scene with Wesley - hot, cold, loud, blunt and sharp - was twisted and scary. Talk about a slayer with a deathwish.

Buffy might have been tolerable if it didn't star Sarah Michelle Gellar-- Her acting and appearance made it seem like I was watching a high school play starring the most popular girl in school, who only got the lead because she was head of the glee club. Her acting even sucks on Robot Chicken.

But hey, 14-year-old girls of the world unite and defend Buffy: "It was the greatest show ever!" -- Yeah, it was deep. Like, super-deep, omigod!

OH YEAH! She's the same as when Chris Claremont was writing her. All Joss has done is dust off some Claremont-era X-Men nostalgia and writing, add some of his own non-sequiter/pop-culture banter, and called it a shiny new thing.

Yeah. I'll mock you. It's pretty easy when you consider Whedon the pinnacle of entertainment.

And did you miss the part where I said 'plays in others' sandboxes'? By definition that means it's not original work. Joss's X-Men stuff (esp. his Kitty) is certainly an homage to Claremont (which he acknowledges) but he's the best at characterization since Claremont, and makes them more real and human than Claremont ever did. Sorry. It ain't the 80s anymore - readers demand more. And have you tried to read anything Claremont's written in the last ten years? [the thing with Nocturne's stroke in New Excalibur was pretty cool, as it was based on personal experience. But 3 words: X-Men: The End (shudder)]. Anyway, I never said Joss is the pinnacle of entertainment, but he is the pinnacle of a model entertainer, in my opinion. The fact that he is respected by so many fans and so many people in the industry, including actors, crew, writers, and critics, speaks volumes. While trolls only squeak.